Content sharing system and method

ABSTRACT

A method and computing system for defining a group of participants for a videoconference. A request is received from a first participant of the videoconference to initiate an image capture utility, wherein the first participant is included within the group of participants. At least a portion of the group of participants is notified of the intent of the first user to initiate the image capture utility.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of the following U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application Ser. No. 61/803,407, filed 19 Mar. 2013.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates to content sharing and, more particularly, tocontent sharing within a social media platform.

BACKGROUND

The Internet currently allows for the free exchange of ideas andinformation in a manner that was unimaginable only a couple of decadesago. One such use for the Internet is as a communication medium, whetherit is via one-on-one exchanges or multi-party exchanges. For example,two individuals may exchange private emails with each other.Alternatively, multiple people may participate on a public website inwhich they may post entries that are published for multiple people toread. Examples of such websites may include but are not limited toproduct/service review sites and topical blogs.

One such use of the Internet is to allow people to videoconference witheach other. As videoconferencing adds a video component to acommunication session, such communication sessions tend to be moreenjoyable for the participants. Unfortunately, the use ofvideoconferencing sometimes raises enhanced privacy concerns, as peopletend to be more sensitive concerning content that includes their image.

SUMMARY OF DISCLOSURE

In one implementation, a computer-implemented method includes defining agroup of participants for a videoconference. A request from a firstparticipant of the videoconference is received to initiate an imagecapture utility, wherein the first participant is included within thegroup of participants. At least a portion of the group of participantsare notified of the intent of the first user to initiate the imagecapture utility. Notifying at least a portion of the group ofparticipants includes one or more of: providing an audible notificationto at least a portion of the group of participants; providing agraphical notification to at least a portion of the group ofparticipants; and providing a text-based notification to at least aportion of the group of participants.

One or more of the following features may be included. In response tonotifying at least a portion of the group of participants, a requestfrom a second participant of the videoconference may be received to hidea video stream associated with the second participant. The secondparticipant may be included within the group of participants. The videostream associated with the second participant may be hidden. A delayperiod having a defined duration may be initiated and, upon the expiryof the delay period, the image capture utility may be initiated for useby the first participant of the videoconference.

In another implementation, a computer-implemented method includesdefining a group of participants for a videoconference. A request isreceived from a first participant of the videoconference to initiate animage capture utility, wherein the first participant is included withinthe group of participants. At least a portion of the group ofparticipants is notified of the intent of the first user to initiate theimage capture utility.

One or more of the following features may be included. Notifying atleast a portion of the group of participants may include one or more of:providing an audible notification to at least a portion of the group ofparticipants; providing a graphical notification to at least a portionof the group of participants; and providing a text-based notification toat least a portion of the group of participants. In response tonotifying at least a portion of the group of participants, a requestfrom a second participant of the videoconference may be received to hidea video stream associated with the second participant, wherein thesecond participant is included within the group of participants. Thevideo stream associated with the second participant may be hidden. Adelay period having a defined duration may be initiated. Upon the expiryof the delay period, the image capture utility may be initiated for useby the first participant of the videoconference.

In another implementation, a computing system including a processor andmemory is configured to perform operations including defining a group ofparticipants for a videoconference. A request is received from a firstparticipant of the videoconference to initiate an image capture utility,wherein the first participant is included within the group ofparticipants. At least a portion of the group of participants isnotified of the intent of the first user to initiate the image captureutility.

One or more of the following features may be included. Notifying atleast a portion of the group of participants may include one or more of:providing an audible notification to at least a portion of the group ofparticipants; providing a graphical notification to at least a portionof the group of participants; and providing a text-based notification toat least a portion of the group of participants. In response tonotifying at least a portion of the group of participants, a requestfrom a second participant of the videoconference may be received to hidea video stream associated with the second participant, wherein thesecond participant is included within the group of participants. Thevideo stream associated with the second participant may be hidden. Adelay period having a defined duration may be initiated. Upon the expiryof the delay period, the image capture utility may be initiated for useby the first participant of the videoconference.

The details of one or more implementations are set forth in theaccompanying drawings and the description below. Other features andadvantages will become apparent from the description, the drawings, andthe claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view of a distributed computing networkincluding a computing device that executes a videoconferencing processaccording to an implementation of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of the videoconferencing process of FIG. 1according to an implementation of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic view of a videoconference managed by thevideoconferencing process of FIG. 1 according to an implementation ofthe present disclosure.

Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In FIG. 1, there is shown videoconferencing process 10.Videoconferencing process 10 may be implemented as a server-sideprocess, a client-side process, or a hybrid server-side/client-sideprocess. For example, videoconferencing process 10 may be implemented asa purely server-side process via videoconferencing process 10 s.Alternatively, videoconferencing process 10 may be implemented as apurely client-side process via one or more of videoconferencing process10 c 1, videoconferencing process 10 c 2, videoconferencing process 10 c3, and videoconferencing process 10 c 4. Alternatively still,videoconferencing process 10 may be implemented as a hybridserver-side/client-side process via videoconferencing process 10 s incombination with one or more of videoconferencing process 10 c 1,videoconferencing process 10 c 2, videoconferencing process 10 c 3, andvideoconferencing process 10 c 4. Accordingly, videoconferencing process10 as used in this disclosure may include any combination ofvideoconferencing process 10 s, videoconferencing process 10 c 1,videoconferencing process 10 c 2, videoconferencing process 10 c 3, andvideoconferencing process 10 c 4.

Videoconferencing process 10 s may be a server application and mayreside on and may be executed by computing device 12, which may beconnected to network 14 (e.g., the Internet or a local area network).Examples of computing device 12 may include, but are not limited to: apersonal computer, a laptop computer, a personal digital assistant, adata-enabled cellular telephone, a notebook computer, a television withone or more processors embedded therein or coupled thereto, a servercomputer, a series of server computers, a mini computer, a mainframecomputer, or a dedicated network device.

The instruction sets and subroutines of videoconferencing process 10 s,which may be stored on storage device 16 coupled to computing device 12,may be executed by one or more processors (not shown) and one or morememory architectures (not shown) included within computing device 12.Examples of storage device 16 may include but are not limited to: a harddisk drive; a tape drive; an optical drive; a RAID device; a randomaccess memory (RAM); a read-only memory (ROM); and all forms of flashmemory storage devices.

Network 14 may be connected to one or more secondary networks (e.g.,network 18), examples of which may include but are not limited to: alocal area network; a wide area network; or an intranet, for example.

Examples of videoconferencing processes 10 c 1, 10 c 2, 10 c 3, 10 c 4may include but are not limited to a web browser, a game console userinterface, a video conference user interface, or a specializedapplication (e.g., an application running on e.g., the Android™ platformor the iOS™ platform). The instruction sets and subroutines ofvideoconferencing processes 10 c 1, 10 c 2, 10 c 3, 10 c 4, which may bestored on storage devices 20, 22, 24, 26 (respectively) coupled toclient electronic devices 28, 30, 32, 34 (respectively), may be executedby one or more processors (not shown) and one or more memoryarchitectures (not shown) incorporated into client electronic devices28, 30, 32, 34 (respectively). Examples of storage devices 20, 22, 24,26 may include but are not limited to: hard disk drives; tape drives;optical drives; RAID devices; random access memories (RAM); read-onlymemories (ROM), and all forms of flash memory storage devices.

Examples of client electronic devices 28, 30, 32, 34 may include, butare not limited to, data-enabled, cellular telephone 28, laptop computer30, personal digital assistant 32, personal computer 34, a notebookcomputer (not shown), a server computer (not shown), a gaming console(not shown), a television (not shown), a tablet computer (not shown) anda dedicated network device (not shown). Client electronic devices 28,30, 32, 34 may each execute an operating system, examples of which mayinclude but are not limited to Microsoft Windows™, Android™, WebOS™,iOS™, Redhat Linux™, or a custom operating system.

Users 36, 38, 40, 42 may access videoconferencing process 10 directlythrough network 14 or through secondary network 18. Further,videoconferencing process 10 may be connected to network 14 throughsecondary network 18, as illustrated with link line 44.

The various client electronic devices (e.g., client electronic devices28, 30, 32, 34) may be directly or indirectly coupled to network 14 (ornetwork 18). For example, data-enabled, cellular telephone 28 and laptopcomputer 30 are shown wirelessly coupled to network 14 via wirelesscommunication channels 44, 46 (respectively) established betweendata-enabled, cellular telephone 28, laptop computer 30 (respectively)and cellular network/bridge 48, which is shown directly coupled tonetwork 14. Further, personal digital assistant 32 is shown wirelesslycoupled to network 14 via wireless communication channel 50 establishedbetween personal digital assistant 32 and wireless access point (i.e.,WAP) 52, which is shown directly coupled to network 14. Additionally,personal computer 34 is shown directly coupled to network 18 via ahardwired network connection.

WAP 52 may be, for example, an IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n,Wi-Fi, and/or Bluetooth device that is capable of establishing wirelesscommunication channel 50 between personal digital assistant 32 and WAP52. As is known in the art, IEEE 802.11x specifications may use Ethernetprotocol and carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance(i.e., CSMA/CA) for path sharing. The various 802.11x specifications mayuse phase-shift keying (i.e., PSK) modulation or complementary codekeying (i.e., CCK) modulation, for example. As is known in the art,Bluetooth is a telecommunications industry specification that allowse.g., mobile phones, computers, and personal digital assistants to beinterconnected using a short-range wireless connection.

As is known in the art, users of social networks may be able toparticipate in group communication sessions, such as multiuservideoconferences that allow for virtual gatherings of people so thatthey may chat about specific topics.

Referring also to FIG. 3, assume for illustrative purposes that users36, 38, 40, 42 are all members of social network 150. Further assumethat users 36, 38, 40 wish to participate in videoconference 152. Whilethe following discussion concerns videoconference 152 being executedwithin social network 150, this is for illustrative purposes only and isnot intended to be a limitation of this disclosure, as otherconfigurations are possible. For example, videoconference 152 may occuroutside of social network 150 by way of e.g. a stand-alonecommunications application/product (not shown). For illustrativepurposes, further assume that videoconference 152 will occur throughcomputing device 12, where (in this example) users 36, 38, 40 willaccess videoconference 152 via client electronic devices 28, 30, 32(respectively). Further, assume that videoconference 152 (as used inthis disclosure) is intended to cover any form of video transmission,such as peer-to-peer video transmission, peer-to-many videotransmission, or communal video transmission.

Accordingly and continuing with the above-stated example, assume thatusers 36, 38, 40 each indicate (e.g. via client electronic devices 28,30, 32 respectively) an intention to participate in videoconference 152,thus generating indications 54, 56, 58 respectively. Videoconferencingprocess 10 may receive an indication (e.g. indications 54, 56, 58) thatusers 36, 38, 40 (respectively) wish to participate in videoconference152. Accordingly, videoconferencing process 10 may define 100 a group ofparticipants for videoconference 152, wherein this group of participantsincludes (in this example) users 36, 38, 40.

Videoconferencing process 10 may be configured to allow for thecapturing of images rendered within videoconference 152. For example,videoconferencing process 10 may include image capture utility 154 thatmay be configured to capture the imagery being rendered within videoconference 152. For example, image capture utility 154 may be configuredto function in a fashion similar to a screen capture utility.

Assume for illustrative purposes that image capture utility 154 isavailable for the group of participants (e.g., users 36, 38, 40) toutilize during videoconference 152. For illustrative purposes, assumethat a first user and a second user within the group of participants(e.g., user 36, user 38, respectively) wish to capture videoconferencing images during video conference 152. Examples of such videoconferencing images may include, but are not limited to, videoconferencing screen capture still images.

Accordingly, user 36 may initiate such a screen capture using e.g.,image capture utility 154 via data-enabled, cellular telephone 28. Inresponse to this initiation, videoconferencing process 10 may capture102 first video conferencing image 156 for a first participant (e.g.,user 36) of videoconference 152.

Further, user 38 may initiate such a screen capture using e.g., imagecapture utility 154 via laptop computer 30. In response to thisinitiation, videoconferencing process 10 may capture 104 second videoconferencing image 158 for a second participant (e.g., user 38) ofvideoconference 152.

Videoconferencing process 10 may be configured to define a plurality offolders for use by the group of participants (e.g., users 36, 38, 40),which may be accessible via e.g., social network 150. Example of suchfolders may include, but are not limited to, private folders 160, 162,164 and public folder 166. For example, video conferencing process 10may: associate 105 first private folder 160 with user 36 so that onlyuser 36 has access rights to private folder 160; associate 106 secondprivate folder 162 with user 38 so that only user 38 has access rightsto private folder 162; and associate third private folder 164 with user40 so that only user 40 has access rights to private folder 164.Additionally, video conferencing process 10 may associate 107 publicfolder 166 with the group of participants (e.g., users 36, 38, 40) sothat the group of participants (e.g., users 36, 38, 40) have accessrights to public folder 166.

As the users utilize image capture utility 154 to generate theabove-described video conferencing images, these video conferencingimages may be stored within these various folders.

Continuing with the above-stated example, videoconferencing process 10may store 108 first video conferencing image 156 within first privatefolder 160 associated 105 with the first participant (e.g., user 36) andpublic folder 166 associated 107 with the group of participants.Further, videoconferencing process 10 may store 109 second videoconferencing image 158 within second private folder 162 associated withthe second participant (e.g., user 38) and public folder 166 associatedwith the group of participants.

Accordingly, the group of participants (namely users 36, 38, 40) maybrowse their folders to see the video conferencing images theygenerated. Accordingly, any video conferencing images that user 36generated are stored, by videoconferencing process 10, within firstprivate folder 160. Further, any video conferencing images that user 38generated are stored, by videoconferencing process 10, within secondprivate folder 162. Additionally, any video conferencing images thatuser 40 generated are stored, by videoconferencing process 10, withinthird private folder 164.

Public folder 166 may be configured as a communal folder associated withvideoconference 152. For example, it may be viewable as an event and/orphoto collection within social network 150. Accordingly, any videoconferencing images taken during video conference 152 (regardless ofwhether they were taken by e.g., user 36, user 38 or user 40) may bestored within public folder 166.

Videoconferencing process 10 may be configured to allow the users (e.g.,users 36, 38, 40) to manage their individual video conferencing images.For example, the users (e.g., users 36, 38, 40) may delete one or moreof their video conferencing images.

For example, in response to a request from the first participant (e.g.,user 36) of videoconference 152, videoconferencing process 10 may delete110 first video conferencing image 156 from first private folder 160 andpublic folder 166. Further and in response to a request from the secondparticipant (e.g., user 38) of videoconference 152, videoconferencingprocess 10 may delete 112 second video conferencing image 158 fromsecond private folder 162 and public folder 166. Accordingly,videoconferencing process 10 may be configured to delete one or morevideo conferencing images included within public folder 166 whenever thecorresponding video conferencing image(s) are deleted from the privatefolder of the owner of the video conferencing image(s).

As discussed above, since videoconferencing adds a video component to acommunication session, such communication sessions tend to be moreenjoyable for the participants. Unfortunately, the use ofvideoconferencing sometimes raises enhanced privacy concerns, as peopletend to be more sensitive concerning content that includes their image.Accordingly, videoconferencing process 10 may be configured in a mannerthat adds functionality to address such privacy concerns. For exampleand as will be discussed below, videoconferencing process 10 may beconfigured in a manner that allows users to prevent others fromcapturing their image via above-described image capture utility 154.

When typically configured, image capture utility 154 needs to beinitiated by the individual users wishing to use the utility. Forexample, if a user wishes to initiate image capture utility, the usermay e.g., select button 168, resulting in videoconferencing process 10receiving 114 a request (e.g., request 60) from a first participant(e.g., user 36) of videoconference 152 to initiate image capture utility154.

Upon receiving 114 request 60, videoconferencing process 10 may notify116 at least a portion of the group of participants (e.g., users 38, 40)of the intent of user 36 to initiate image capture utility 154.

When notifying 116 at least a portion of the group of participants,videoconferencing process 10 may: provide 118 an audible notification toat least a portion of the group of participants (e.g., users 38, 40);provide 120 a graphical notification to at least a portion of the groupof participants (e.g., users 38, 40); and/or provide 122 a text-basednotification to at least a portion of the group of participants (e.g.,users 38, 40).

For example, videoconferencing process 10 may provide 118 an audible“shutter” sound effect (e.g., sound effect 170) to users 38, 40 uponreceiving 114 request 60 from user 36. Additionally/alternatively,videoconferencing process 10 may provide 120 a “screen flash” visualeffect (e.g., visual effect 172) to users 38, 40 upon receiving 114request 60 from user 36. Additionally/alternatively, videoconferencingprocess 10 may provide 122 a text-based notification (e.g., notification174) to users 38, 40 upon receiving 114 request 60 from user 36

Videoconferencing process 10 may be configured to allow a user toprevent others from capturing their image. For example,videoconferencing process 10 may allow a user to hide their video feedso that it does not appear within videoconference 152. Accordingly, uponvideoconferencing process 10 notifying 116 users 38, 40 of the intent ofuser 36 to initiate image capture utility 154, user 38, 40 may choose tohide their video stream. This may be accomplished e.g., by user 38, 40selecting e.g., “anonymity” button 176.

Assume for illustrative purposes that user 38 does not wish to allowtheir image to be captured by image capture utility 154 and, therefore,selects “anonymity” button 176. Accordingly, if videoconferencingprocess 10 receives 124 such a request from a second participant (e.g.,user 38) of videoconference 152 to hide their video stream,videoconferencing process 10 may hide 125 the video stream of user 38.The manner in which videoconferencing process 10 hides 125 the videostream of user 38 may vary depending upon implementation. For example,videoconferencing process 10 may be configured to blank out the videofeed of user 38, thus preventing user 38 from being seen withinvideoconference 152. Alternatively, videoconferencing process 10 may beconfigured to allow the video feed of user 38 to be seen withinvideoconference 152 while preventing images from such a video feed frombeing captured by image capture utility 154. Further, videoconferencingprocess 10 may be configured to block the video stream at the sendingclient (e.g., laptop computer 30 for user 38).

Upon videoconferencing process 10 receiving 114 a request (e.g., request60) from user 36 to initiate image capture utility 154,videoconferencing process 10 may initiate 126 a delay period having adefined duration before allowing e.g., user 36 to utilize image captureutility 154. For example, videoconferencing process 10 may initiate 126a fifteen second delay to prevent user 36 from utilizing image captureutility 154 for fifteen second, thus allowing e.g., user 38, 40 toreview and process the above-described notifications and have time tohide their video stream if they desire to do so.

Accordingly and upon the expiry of the above-described delay period,videoconferencing process 10 may initiate 128 image capture utility 154for use by the first participant (e.g., user 36) of videoconference 152,thus allowing user 36 to capture video conferencing images of users 38,40 (which, as discussed above, may be stored 108 within first privatefolder 160 associated with user 36 and public folder 166 associated withthe group of participants of videoconference 152).

Further, whenever a new person (e.g., user 42) joins videoconference 52,the newly-joining user may be provided with the above-describednotifications, thus informing them that one of more users in e.g.,videoconference 152 are utilizing image capture utility 154 to capturevideo conferencing images. Additionally, the above-described time delaymay be utilized to prevent image capture utility 154 from being used byany of the participants of videoconference 152 for e.g., the firstfifteen seconds after a new user joins videoconference 152, thuspreventing the capturing of video conferencing images (and e.g., imagesof new user 42) prior to user 42 being able to review and process theabove-described notifications and have time to hide their video streamif they desire to do so. Alternatively, the delay may be longer ande.g., may last the entire duration of videoconference 152. Further, thedelay may be configured to only prevent the capturing of videoconferencing images with respect to new user 42, thus allowing imagecapture utility 154 to function properly with respect to users 38, 40.

Typically, the level of notification given to a user varies dependingupon the number of times that they have seen the notifications. Forexample, the first time that a user enters into a videoconference inwhich another user is using e.g., screen capture utility 154, the usermay be presented with a longer/higher-level detail description thatexplains the use/operation of screen capture utility 154. However, whenthe same user subsequently joins a video conference in which anotheruser is using e.g., screen capture utility 154, the user may bepresented with a shorter/lower-level detail description that explainsthe use/operation of screen capture utility 154.

As discussed above, videoconferencing process 10 may be configured in amanner that adds functionality to address privacy concerns. Thisconfiguration may be accomplished via videoconferencing process 10applying various privacy enhancing rules. For example, videoconferencing process 10 may be configured to define the above-describedgroup of participants for a videoconference as all individuals who wereinvited to videoconference 152 (whether or not they actually attended)and all individuals who attended videoconference 152 (whether or notthey were actually invited). All of these individual may be consideredpart of the above-described group of participants and, therefore, may beallowed to view the video conferencing images included within publicfolder 166.

Further, once a videoconference ends, the content within any associatedpublic folders may be locked down and, therefore, not directly shareablewith any additional individuals. Accordingly and for example, oncevideoconference 152 ends, the above-described group of participants maybe fixed, no additional individuals may be added to the group ofparticipants, and the video conferencing images included within publicfolder 166 may not be directly shared with any other individuals. Whilenot directly shareable, the video conferencing images included withinpublic folder 166 may be indirectly shared with additional individuals.For example, one or more individuals already included within a group ofparticipants (regardless of whether or not the group has been lockeddown due to the completion of the related videoconference) may copy andreshare the video conferencing images included within public folder 166with third party individuals.

As discussed above, videoconferencing process 10 may be configured todefine a plurality of folders for use by the group of participants(e.g., users 36, 38, 40), which may be accessible via e.g., socialnetwork 150. Example of such folders may include, but are not limitedto, private folders 160, 162, 164 and public folder 166. Videoconferencing process 10 may be configured to allow members of the groupof participants (e.g., users 36, 38, 40 with respect to video conference152) to review and flag content included within e.g., public folder 166.

Flagging of Content Immediately: When video conferencing images arecaptured and shared within public folder 166, video conferencing process10 may be configured to provide participants of video conference 152(e.g., users, 36, 38, 40) with the ability to immediately flag videoconferencing image(s) that are e.g., consider abusive within a number ofcategories (e.g., nudity, derogatory, profane). For example, users 36,38, 40 may review the video conferencing image(s) include within publicfolder 166 (e.g., by selecting folder icon 178 from within videoconference 152) and flag one or more of the video conferencing image(s).

Flagging of Content Once Shared in a Social Stream: As discussed above,public folder 166 may be configured to be accessible via e.g., socialnetwork 150. Further, if users 36, 38, 40 are members of social network150, videoconferencing process 10 may be configured to publish the videoconferencing image(s) included within public folder 166 to e.g., thesocial streams of users 36, 38, 40 within social network 150.Accordingly, video conferencing process 10 may be configured to provideparticipants of video conference 152 (e.g., users, 36, 38, 40) with theability to flag video conferencing image(s) that are e.g., considerabusive within a number of categories (e.g., nudity, derogatory,profane) from within the above-described social streams.

Flagging of Content Regardless of Location: Video conferencing process10 may be configured to provide participants of video conference 152(e.g., users, 36, 38, 40) with the ability to flag video conferencingimage(s) that are e.g., consider abusive within a number of categories(e.g., nudity, derogatory, profane) from whatever location they areviewable (e.g., from within a folder, from within a photo collection,from within a social stream, from within a videoconference).

Locking of Content Upon the Departure of a User: As discussed above,videoconferencing process 10 may be configured to share videoconferencing image(s) generated during a videoconference with theabove-described group of participants. However, videoconferencingprocess 10 may be configured to stop sharing with a user upon the userleaving the videoconference. Accordingly, if user 40 only participatesin videoconference 152 for ten minutes during the middle ofvideoconference 152, the only video conferencing image(s) that will beviewable by user 40 within public folder 166 may be those generatedduring the ten minutes that user 40 participated.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, the present disclosuremay be embodied as a method, a system, or a computer program product.Accordingly, the present disclosure may take the form of an entirelyhardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment (includingfirmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or an embodimentcombining software and hardware aspects that may all generally bereferred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.” Furthermore,the present disclosure may take the form of a computer program producton a computer-usable storage medium having computer-usable program codeembodied in the medium.

Any suitable computer usable or computer readable medium may beutilized. The computer-usable or computer-readable medium may be, forexample but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical,electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, device,or propagation medium. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) ofthe computer-readable medium may include the following: an electricalconnection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, ahard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), anerasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), anoptical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), anoptical storage device, a transmission media such as those supportingthe Internet or an intranet, or a magnetic storage device. Thecomputer-usable or computer-readable medium may also be paper or anothersuitable medium upon which the program is printed, as the program can beelectronically captured, via, for instance, optical scanning of thepaper or other medium, then compiled, interpreted, or otherwiseprocessed in a suitable manner, if necessary, and then stored in acomputer memory. In the context of this document, a computer-usable orcomputer-readable medium may be any medium that can contain, store,communicate, propagate, or transport the program for use by or inconnection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.The computer-usable medium may include a propagated data signal with thecomputer-usable program code embodied therewith, either in baseband oras part of a carrier wave. The computer usable program code may betransmitted using any appropriate medium, including but not limited tothe Internet, wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc.

Computer program code for carrying out operations of the presentdisclosure may be written in an object oriented programming languagesuch as Java, Smalltalk, C++ or the like. However, the computer programcode for carrying out operations of the present disclosure may also bewritten in conventional procedural programming languages, such as the“C” programming language or similar programming languages. The programcode may execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user'scomputer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user'scomputer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remotecomputer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may beconnected to the user's computer through a local area network/a widearea network/the Internet.

The present disclosure is described with reference to flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems) andcomputer program products according to embodiments of the disclosure. Itwill be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/orblock diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, may be implemented by computerprogram instructions. These computer program instructions may beprovided to a processor of a general purpose computer/special purposecomputer/other programmable data processing apparatus, such that theinstructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus, create means for implementingthe functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in acomputer-readable memory that may direct a computer or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readablememory produce an article of manufacture including instruction meanswhich implement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer orother programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series ofoperational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmableapparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that theinstructions which execute on the computer or other programmableapparatus provide steps for implementing the functions/acts specified inthe flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

The flowcharts and block diagrams in the figures may illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof code, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be notedthat, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in theblock may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, twoblocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantiallyconcurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverseorder, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be notedthat each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustrations,and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchartillustrations, may be implemented by special purpose hardware-basedsystems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations ofspecial purpose hardware and computer instructions.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure.As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof.

The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of allmeans or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended toinclude any structure, material, or act for performing the function incombination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. Thedescription of the present disclosure has been presented for purposes ofillustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive orlimited to the disclosure in the form disclosed. Many modifications andvariations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the artwithout departing from the scope and spirit of the disclosure. Theembodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the disclosure and the practical application, and toenable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the disclosurefor various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to theparticular use contemplated.

Having thus described the disclosure of the present application indetail and by reference to embodiments thereof, it will be apparent thatmodifications and variations are possible without departing from thescope of the disclosure defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A non-transitory computer-readable medium coupledto one or more processors, the non-transitory computer-readable mediumhaving instructions stored thereon, the instructions when executedcausing the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:defining a group of participants for a videoconference; receiving afirst request from a first participant of the videoconference toinitiate an image capture utility during the videoconference, whereinthe first participant is included within the group of participants;notifying at least a portion of the group of participants of an intentof the first participant to initiate the image capture utility, whereinnotifying at least the portion of the group of participants includes oneor more of: providing an audible notification to at least the portion ofthe group of participants providing a graphical notification to at leastthe portion of the group of participants providing a text-basednotification to at least the portion of the group of participants; uponreceiving the first request, initiating a delay period having a definedduration; receiving a second request from a second participant of thevideoconference to hide a video stream associated with the secondparticipant, wherein the second participant is included within the groupof participants; in response to receiving the second request from thesecond participant, hiding the video stream associated with the secondparticipant; and upon expiry of the delay period, initiating the imagecapture utility for use by the first participant during thevideoconference.
 2. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim1, the instructions further causing the one or more processors toperform operations comprising: receiving a third request from a thirdparticipant of the videoconference to hide a video stream associatedwith the third participant, wherein the third participant is includedwithin the group of participants.
 3. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 2, the instructions further causingthe one or more processors to perform operations comprising: in responseto receiving the third request, hiding the video stream associated withthe third participant.
 4. A computer-implemented method comprising:defining a group of participants for a videoconference; receiving afirst request from a first participant of the videoconference toinitiate an image capture utility during the videoconference, whereinthe first participant is included within the group of participants;notifying at least a portion of the group of participants of an intentof the first participant to initiate the image capture utility; uponreceiving the first request, initiating a delay period having a definedduration; receiving a second request from a second participant of thevideoconference to hide a video stream associated with the secondparticipant, wherein the second participant is included within the groupof participants; in response to receiving the second request, hiding thevideo stream associated with the second participant; and upon expiry ofthe delay period, initiating the image capture utility for use by thefirst participant of the videoconference during the videoconference. 5.The computer-implemented method of claim 4 wherein notifying at least aportion of the group of participants includes: providing an audiblenotification to at least the portion of the group of participants. 6.The computer-implemented method of claim 4 wherein notifying at least aportion of the group of participants includes: providing a graphicalnotification to at least the portion of the group of participants. 7.The computer-implemented method of claim 4 wherein notifying at least aportion of the group of participants includes: providing a text-basednotification to at least the portion of the group of participants. 8.The computer-implemented method of claim 4 further comprising: inresponse to notifying at least the portion of the group of participants,receiving a third request from a third participant of thevideoconference to hide a video stream associated with the thirdparticipant, wherein the third participant is included within the groupof participants.
 9. The computer-implemented method of claim 8 furthercomprising: hiding the video stream associated with the thirdparticipant.
 10. The computer-implemented method of claim 4 wherein thesecond request is received during the delay period having the definedduration.
 11. The computer-implemented method of claim 4 whereinnotifying at least a portion of the group of participants of the intentof the first participant to initiate the image capture utility comprisesselecting a notification to present to each participant based on anumber of times that the respective participant has been presented witha notification.
 12. The computer-implemented method of claim 4 furthercomprising: initiating the delay period when a new participant joins thegroup of participants.
 13. A computing system including at least oneprocessor and a memory, the computing system configured to performoperations comprising: defining a group of participants for avideoconference; receiving a first request from a first participant ofthe videoconference to initiate an image capture utility during thevideoconference, wherein the first participant is included within thegroup of participants; in response to receiving the first request fromthe first participant, initiating a delay period having a definedduration and notifying at least a portion of the group of participantsof an intent of the first participant to initiate the image captureutility; during the delay period, receiving a second request from asecond participant of the videoconference to hide a video streamassociated with the second participant, wherein the second participantis included within the group of participants; in response to receivingthe second request, hiding the video stream associated with the secondparticipant; and upon expiry of the delay period, initiating the imagecapture utility for use by the first participant of the videoconferenceduring the videoconference.
 14. The computing system of claim 13 whereinnotifying at least a portion of the group of participants includes:providing an audible notification to at least a portion of the group ofparticipants.
 15. The computing system of claim 13 wherein notifying atleast a portion of the group of participants includes: providing agraphical notification to at least a portion of the group ofparticipants.
 16. The computing system of claim 13 wherein notifying atleast a portion of the group of participants includes: providing atext-based notification to at least a portion of the group ofparticipants.
 17. The computing system of claim 13, further configuredto perform operations comprising: receiving a third request from a thirdparticipant of the videoconference to hide a video stream associatedwith the third participant, wherein the third participant is includedwithin the group of participants.
 18. The computing system of claim 17further configured to perform operations comprising: hiding the videostream associated with the third participant.
 19. The computing systemof claim 13 wherein notifying at least a portion of the group ofparticipants of the intent of the first participant to initiate theimage capture utility comprises selecting a notification to present toeach participant based on a number of times that the respectiveparticipant has been presented with a notification.
 20. The computingsystem of claim 13 further configured to initiate the delay period whena new participant joins the group.